Why George Bridge has been handed an uncustomary start in the No 14 jersey
Having bided his time on the sidelines, George Bridge is finally ready for a run with the Crusaders and will make his return to first-class action against the Highlanders on Friday night.
In an added twist to the return, Bridge will run out on the right wing instead of the left, with fellow All Black Sevu Reece dropping to the bench.
It’s a bit of a mix-up for Bridge, who can’t remember the last time he was handed the No 14 jersey.
“I haven’t had the 14 jersey on my back for a wee while but I’m just happy to be out there,” Bridge told media. “I haven’t played in five and a half months so to get a wee opportunity to be on the field is massive for me. I’m really excited.
“[While] I haven’t had the 14 jersey on my back for a while … I’ve had to swap over in the middle of games and stuff like that a couple of times so it’s not too much different.”
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Bridge played for the Crusaders Knights development side two weekends ago in his first return to action since suffering from a torn pectoral at an All Blacks mid-week training session during last year’s Tri Nations competition in October.
“In a defence drill, I sort of got stepped on my inside and slid out going [right] and put my arm out to make a tackle … and it sort of got wrenched back like that and just popped off the bone,” he said.
“Had surgery about a week after I did it and then I was in a sling for six weeks and then it was a pretty slow start because, obviously, it had fully ripped off the bone so they had to drill a couple of holes into it and stitch it back on so had to wait for it to fuse back to it before I could start my rehab and stuff.”
Bridge returned home to Gisborne in early December and by the time the Super Rugby Aotearoa pre-season rolled around, he was ready to get back into properly rehabilitating the injury.
“I’ve sort of just been building every week and getting that muscle back and getting more confident with getting into that [tackling] motion and now it’s feeling 100 [per cent],” he said.
“I got through 40 minutes for the development team two weekends ago and felt fine. The whole time I’ve sort of been thinking that sort of [tackling] motion is where it could be an issue but while I’ve been back full-time training for the last month or so, the confidence has gotten a lot better every week.”
“We want to get the ball out and into Richie Mo’unga’s hands."
It's a simple strategy, right? Jason Ryan spoke with @PatMcK6 about why the CrusadersRugby continue to set the standards in #SuperRugbyAotearoa. #CRUvHIGhttps://t.co/QkvW56YFV7
— The XV Rugby (@TheXV) March 31, 2021
Crusaders coach Scott Robertson has already struggled to accommodate the riches of talent that has available in the Crusaders backline this season, with the likes of David Havili, Will Jordan, Leicester Fainga’anuku and Reece all jostling for positions in the back three.
In Bridge’s absence, Fainga’anuku has made a name for himself in the No 11 jersey while Havili has slotted into the midfield.
Instead of dropping the relatively junior Fainga’anuku, however, Robertson has seen fit to promote Bridge onto the right wing in a move that the coach hopes will pay dividends for Bridge at the higher level of the game.
“Leicester [Faingaa’nuku] has been superb for us, and we just wanted to make sure we had flexibility in our options in our backs, and to give George the chance to play on both wings because he can play fullback as well,” Robertson said.
“He can show the All Blacks selectors that he’s got utility factor and can play both sides.”
While the Crusaders are undefeated in this year’s Super Rugby Aotearoa competition, their opposition on Friday night, the Highlanders, haven’t tasted victory since Round One.
Undoubtedly, Bridge will be itching to keep the Crusaders’ perfect record intact.
Comments on RugbyPass
I certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to comments